Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Hemmings Classic Car

Restaurant Decor THOSE KITSCHY RESTAURANTS WITH ALL SORTS OF POP CULTURE DETRITUS plastered to the walls typically curate a few hubcaps or automotive gingerbread in their quest for authenticity. Most of the time, the stuff up on the walls is easily identified — y’know, for nostalgia’s sake — but this grille that Bill McGuire of Scottsdale, Arizona, sent along (mounted to the wall of a restaurant in Ohio or Indiana) took a little bit of digging. “All we know is that (a) no one currently at the restaurant knows what it is or where it came from, (b) it has been hanging on the wall for a very long time, and (c) using the license plate size as a gauge indicates a 58-inch width (assuming the Texas plate is standard…

1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V 877-343-2276 • WWW.AUTOMODELLO.COM$249.95 (STANDARD EDITION); $449.95 (HOMAGE EDITION) The Ford Motor Company celebrated its 75th anniversary in high style for 1978, creating a truly opulent version of its flagship Lincoln Continental Mark V. This pricey special edition, which Ford dubbed “Diamond Jubilee,” was available in color-keyed Diamond Blue and Jubilee Gold, and fewer than 5,200 in total would be built. The artisans at Automodello have created an amazing 1:24-scale tribute to the 1978 Continental Mark V that represents that Diamond Jubilee, with the optional glass moonroof. This resin model has no opening panels, but the exterior and interior are so carefully and crisply detailed, you won’t miss a thing. Indeed, from the delicate, laser-cut metal hood ornament to the trunklid’s simulated vinyl-covered spare tire hump,…

WITH MORE THAN 5.5-MILLION happy customers, it was the bestselling car in France from 1972 to 1986. From 1976 to 1983, it was sold by AMC dealers here in the U.S. The Renault 5 and Le Car (American nomenclature) were four-passenger, three- or five-door supermini hatchbacks, appealing to drivers looking for economical transport in an attractive, tight package. The new Renault was dreamed up by designer Michel Boué. Renault was so impressed by his sketches, it turned his imagination into reality. On December 10, 1971, the Renault 5 was introduced to the press, with a formal launch on January 28, 1972. Unfortunately, Boué died of cancer in 1971, and he never witnessed his car’s introduction nor its enormous success in Europe and abroad. To reduce tooling costs, the Renault 5…

They may be compact in size, but the Corvair station wagons are able to carry a volume of cargo that exceeds what their small appearance leads one to believe. With the rear seat folded flat, the interior transforms into an area accommodating approximately 58 cubic feet of cargo space. And with the 10 cubic feet of carrying capacity in the front trunk, the Corvair has the ability to carry an amazing amount of stuff. Chevrolet produced the four-door Corvair wagon for two years. For the 1961 model year only, it was called Lakewood and was offered in standard 500 trim of which 5,591 were produced, and the deluxe 700 trim model was more popular with 20,451 built. For the 1962 model year, the lineup changed: 3,716 model 700s were made,…

More than a year ago, the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance began a new chapter of its history when it relocated to The Festival Commons at Charles Wood Park in Lake George, New York. The park, just a short walk from the southern shore of the lake, is a picturesque setting for our hallmark event of the season. We celebrated the 2018 event — the 12th consecutive — on September 14-16, honoring Prewar Cadillacs, Chrysler 300 Letter Cars, Lotus Road Cars, Cars of Pininfarina, 1957 Ford E-and F-Code Cars, Prewar Motorcycles, and Fresh Restorations. These were joined by our annual classes: Full Classics, Pre- and Postwar American Cars, American Muscle Cars, European/Imports, Preservation Cars, and Vintage Trucks. Nearly 120 vehicles graced the manicured lawn under a sunny sky, while our…

It’s easy to look at the big, grand automobiles dubbed Full Classics and assume that they are strictly playthings of the wealthy. We’re not going to tell you that you can roll into your next cruise night in a V-16 Cadillac or a Duesenberg without spending your pound of flesh, but if you’re willing to dig a little deeper, there are a lot of bargains to be had. The key is first and foremost to be flexible, especially with regard to body type. Open cars are always going to be on the expensive side (though if you take a look at some of the years and makes we’ve listed, you will even find some good buys there) but closed cars, especially sedans, are far more luxurious and yet much more…

After 61 years, the interior sill below the driver’sdoor window shows more oxidized steel than factory-applied black paint. It’s around one irregular square foot of shiny brown-gray metal that may look worn and unkempt to an outside observer, but to the car’s caretaker, it represents lifetimes of the people who’ve meant the most to him. This 1958 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 has enjoyed the good fortune of being cherished and maintained, and it will continue to be passed down for decades to come. The yellowed invoice from Vermilion, Ohio’s Sharpnack Chevrolet shows that, on August 22, 1958, Lorain residents Stencil “Stan” and Magdalena “Maggie” Szarek purchased this nicely optioned two-tone two-door sedan —it had been a showroom display model—one of fewer than 12,300 built in the entry-level Dynamic series for the…

Since his youth, Dan Baker has been immersed in his father’s affinity for Ford’s Model As. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native spent countless days with his dad — also named Dan — learning the skills necessary to resurrect Henry’s ladies. In time, the younger Baker relocated to Chandler, Arizona, and created his own humble collection of vintage cars. Yet the Model A remained common ground, and in 2008 both stood beside a Pennsylvania neighbor’s fabric-top 1931 Ford Model A Victoria. “I’m not sure why we even gravitated to it,” says Dan. “We knew it sat for years, and a lot of people had looked with interest. They all said it was too far gone. As we stood there though, we believed we could clean it up, put everything back in place…

Happy Days Tour XI WIND, WAVES, AND WATER IS THE THEME FOR THIS YEAR’S VINTAGE CHEVROLET CLUB of America Happy Days Tour taking place around Watertown, New York, June 2-6. The tour will cover areas around Eastern Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River with stops including the H. Lee White Marine Museum, the U.S. Coast Guard Station, Fort Ontario, and more. Participants will also have the opportunity to cruise on the St. Lawrence River and visit The Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York, which features the largest collection of antique boats in the country. The tour is open to all 1955-1994 Chevrolet or GMC vehicles; the registration deadline is May 1. Address all questions to Eileen Rice at Raylee73@aol.com or call 315-635-9644. CLC Grand National THE CADILLAC LASALLE…

Buys at Bonhams BONHAMS WRAPPED UP ITS SCOTTSDALE AUCTION AT THE WESTIN KIERLAND RESORT & SPA during the January bonanza. The company saw success with a 90-percent sell-through rate eclipsing the $16-million mark. Looking deeper into the consignments, we found more than $1 million in sales related to American classics outside of the muscle car and performance era. Some of those that rang out were this 1956 Lincoln Premiere convertible that had undergone a detailed restoration, featuring a 368-cu.in. V-8 with Turbo-Drive transmission. The fully loaded piece of ’50s Americana found a new home for $50,400. Chrysler jumped into the fray with a beautiful 1948 New Yorker convertible, a wood-bodied example that had less than 65,000 on the odometer and would ultimately sell for $75,600. Also of note was a…

Upgrading a vintage automobile to enhance the driving experience while still retaining a mostly stock exterior remains a popular path to owner enjoyment. Don Magas of Western Pennsylvania,who has possessed at least one Corvair during each of the last 56 years,applied that concept to his 1961 Lakewood station wagon by improving it with effective yet subtle modifications. Offered in the 500 series and more upscale 700 series, Lakewood station wagons were new for the second model year of Corvair production, as were the Greenbrier Sports Wagon vans and the Corvair 95-based Corvan and Loadside and Rampside pickups. The popular two-door coupes and four-door sedans of the 500, 700, and Monza 900 series were also in the 1961 lineup. For 1962, station wagons were only available in 700 and Monza 900…

Quiz time. Which Mopar B-body sold in higher numbers: the 1968 Dodge Charger or the 1975 Chrysler Cordoba? If you answered the Cordoba, you’re right! The Cordoba was an overnight sales sensation when introduced in 1975 and offered Chrysler Corporation a sales boost the company desperately needed. An all-new model for 1975, and the first Chrysler-badged product built on the corporation’s B-body platform, the Cordoba found some 150,105 new owners that year, its sales exceeding all other Chrysler models combined — all of which were fullsize C-body cars. For the record, Dodge rang up 96,108 sales of new Chargers in 1968, but the peak year for B-body Chargers did not come until 1973, when the division sold 122,759 examples. The big sales of the 1973 Charger, then encroaching on the…

At the dawn of the automobile, owning any car was a mark of distinction — a luxury. The essentially hand-built nature of early autos and the lack of standardized controls and components meant that to operate and maintain a motor vehicle required a specialist. Thus, the only buyers were those who could afford to keep a chauffeur/mechanician on staff to drive them and keep the car in good repair. As cars generally became more accessible, especially after the 1908 advent of the Ford Model T, those of means increasingly sought to retain the distinction they had previously enjoyed via the mere act of auto ownership. Thus was born the luxury car — fine and distinctive automobiles for the connoisseur. Around 1915, the technological and stylistic innovations in luxury cars reached…

The Model L Lincoln was the premier luxury car offered by the Ford Motor Company in the 1920s. Although a variety of factory coachwork body styles were available to customers, the chassis was also a favorite of body builders as the demand for a custom-bodied Lincoln was significant. The Lincoln Motor Car Company heavily promoted its custom-bodied cars with lavish full-color sales catalogs and portfolios, as well as with its in-house magazine specifically showcasing the custom-bodied cars that could be ordered. “Lincoln Motor Cars Exclusively,” proclaimed Roslyn Motors in its full-page advertisement in the souvenir program for the Automobile Salon held at the Hotel Commodore in New York City from November 18 to December 4, 1926. The Annual Automobile Salons at the Commodore were not open to the general public…

Thomas Hubbard was born in 1925 to a well-to-do suburban New York family; his father was an engineer for Standard Oil, and the family car was invariably a Franklin. But young Thomas’ health was poor, and his parents decided to send him to Tucson to live with his aunt. Hubbard’s parents would drive cross-country once a year to visit — never by train or by plane, always by the family Franklin. If the Franklin marque has somehow escaped you, we’re not surprised; though roughly 150,000 were built from 1902 through the firm’s demise in 1934, only approximately 3,700 remain today. Comparable with Packard and Cadillac in its day, the Syracuse, New York-based firm was America’s largest builder of air-cooled automobiles. Franklin was claimed by the Depression, as were so many…

Dating back to 1919, the Alvis Car & Engineering Company Limited is one of England’s most storied automobile manufacturers. Held in the same high regard as the luxury automobiles from Bentley, Daimler, Jaguar, and Rolls-Royce it was worthy of every bit of its reputation and more. As the company’s name suggests, besides cars, its engineering side designed and built other machinery, notably tanks, armored vehicles, and aircraft engines during World War II and thereafter. So successful were its designs, that Alvis quickly became Europe’s biggest manufacturer of light armored vehicles. Those same engineering principles were the backbone of its well-crafted automobiles too, so it’s no wonder that Alvis automobiles were always so desirable, both then and now. Based in Coventry, Alvis was a very innovative company. Beginning in 1923, at…

CAR: 1956 Chrysler 300B AUCTIONEER: Gooding & Company LOCATION: Scottsdale, Arizona DATE: January 19, 2019 LOT NUMBER: 150 AVERAGE SELLING PRICE: $80,000 SELLING PRICE: $56,000 THE POWERFUL 300B WAS THE SECOND version of the vaunted 300 series. The 354-cu.in. Hemi V-8 with dual-quad induction brought an increase of power from 300 to 340 bhp at 5,200 rpm. Some minor revisions were featured including tailfin design, updated emblems, and a little less chrome, while largely maintaining the same interior and some updated mechanicals including the electrical system and braking. This Regimental Red example underwent a highly detailed body-off restoration 10 years prior to the sale. Driven sparingly and part of a private collection, this example’s paint, chrome, and interior were a testament to the quality of the restoration. This 300B featured…

I have a passion for Corvairs and their unique attributes and handling. I bought a 1963 Monza convertible, ’64 Spyder convertible, and a ’68 new, and have restored six Corvairs over the years, so I wanted to build a station wagon. Among its other upgrades, I also wanted to revise the interior while retaining a Corvair appearance. I designed it and had an upholstery shop create it in British Tan Naugahyde. A ’61 Monza stainless-steel spear was added on the bottom of the door panels, the tufting mimics a ’66 model, the buttons are from a ’66, and the armrests are from a ’64. The seat backrest tufting resembles a ’63 and uses ’66 stainless-steel buttons. A Daytona weave carpet adds a more utilitarian look.…

After selling automobiles under the Rambler brand since 1902, the Thomas B. Jeffery Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin, decided for 1914 to switch to using the Jeffery name on its products. As business decisions go, it was questionable. Charles Jeffery, son of the founder, claimed the idea was to honor his father who died four years earlier while on vacation in Europe. A cynic, however, could point out that Jeffery was also Charles’ name, so it may have been done simply for that reason. In any event, it was a mistake, because the Rambler moniker had an outstanding reputation, known and respected throughout the world. By switching to the much lesser-known Jeffery name the company would lose most of the goodwill and brand recognition built up since 1879, when it first…

Drive somewhere in a Studebaker Champ and you can expect to put smiles on people’s faces. This is a truck that hits every happiness-inducing high note: It’s an old pickup, it sports quirky Jet Age styling, it’s unusual, and it’s the progeny of a beloved American independent. But the Champ’s backstory is more of a tragedy, like the plot of that tear-jerking 1979 movie with which this truck shares its name. A great boxer, slightly past his prime, steps into the ring for one more bout, wins the fight, only to die in the end. Okay, so maybe it’s not quite as sad as Ricky Schroder bawling over a lifeless Jon Voight in The Champ, but you get the point. By the time the Champ squared off against Detroit’s commercial…

To the uninformed, NSU is but a footnote in German motoring history, a once-proud builder of quality cars and motorbikes that, after more than 100 years, found itself paired with, then dissolved into, Volkswagen’s upscale brand, Audi. Indeed, for the past two decades, Audi’s small, style-forward sports car has worn a badge —“TT” representing Tourist Trophy — that originally appeared on the hottest versions of NSU’s popular compact Sixties sedan. As this car proves, there was a true competition pedigree, earned on two wheels and four, behind NSU’s 1200 TT. Like France’s Peugeot, NSU was founded in the 19th century to build products that weren’t automotive in nature, but it would get into the transportation business on two wheels through the bicycle craze. The initial name of this company, situated…